FAYETTE, Iowa – The Northern Michigan University men's soccer team earned a 2-0 shutout win against Upper Iowa in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) match Saturday afternoon.

The Wildcats are now 3-2 with three straight wins and two consecutive shutouts.

FREE KICK

Ryan Palmbaum was awarded a free kick after a foul from the Peacocks. Palmbaum's shot, which flew to the left of the diving UIU keeper, was the first goal of the game for NMU.

FROM THE CORNER

The second goal tallied for the Wildcats was an own goal for the Peacocks. 

A delay in getting a ball for a corner stopped the clock. After receiving the ball to take the corner, Kaffie Kurz made a heads-up play sending the ball in front of the net which bounced off an opposing player for the goal. 

BIG SAVE

A penalty kick by the Peacocks in the 74th minute gave the home team a chance to get on the board. NMU goalkeeper Alex Weaver made a beautiful diving save to keep his clean sheet intact. It is the second straight game that Weaver has made a diving save to preserve a shutout. 

STAT LEADERS

The Wildcats led in shots 11-8, with an 8-6 advantage in the first half and a 3-2 one in the second.

Palmbaum took a team-high four shots for NMU. Kurz was next in line with three. Cole Walgren, Emanuele Ancione, Brady Kronenburg, and Keegan Schmidt each took one. 

Four Wildcat shots were on goal. Palmbaum had 2 and Walgren and Kronenburg each had one.

The backline provided a great boost and limited the opposing team's scoring opportunities. The Peacocks were limited to just two shots in the second half.

Weaver, who has played every minute in goal for the Wildcats this season, saved all five shots that came his way. Today's game was the second clean sheet of the season for the keeper.

QUOTABLE

"If we won three straight at the beginning of the season we would be in the top 25 with our heads up in the clouds, but instead it happened in the middle of the season. It is still three straight wins, but our feet are firmly are in the ground," said head coach David Poggi.

UP NEXT

NMU returns home to take on Northwood Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 12 p.m. inside the Superior Dome.